Pneumatic tire

ABSTRACT

A radial ply tire in which grooves due to wear at the edge regions of the tread are minimized. One embodiment of the tire includes a radial ply carcass, a layer of fiber-reinforced rubber material, a pair of circumferentially extending strips of fabric at the shoulder regions having cords obliquely disposed with respect to the circumference of the tire, a circumferential belt, and tread and sidewall portions.

United States Patent 1 i Bertrand PNEUMATIC TIRE '[75] Inventor; Marcel J. Bertrand, Grivengnee- Liege, Belgium 73] Assignee: Uniroyal Englebert Deutschland AG,

Aachen, Germany 22 :Filed: .Oct.26, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 83,976

301 a Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 5, 1969 Gennany ..P 19 55 669.5 Dec. 4, 1969 Germany ..P 19 60 943.9

52 us. 01. 452/361 511' 1m.c1 ..B60c 9/18 [58] Field or Search ..152/354, 355,656, 152/361 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,057,392 10/1962 Nallinger ..152/361 [451 May 29, 1973 Weber ..152/355 3,095,026 6/1963 3,043,357. 7/1962 Bagnuk et a1 7/1965 Boussu et al. 152/361 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,435,804 3/1966 France ..152/361 Primary Examiner-George H. Libman Assistant Examiner George H. Libman Att0meyCharles A. Blank 57 ABSTRACT A radial ply tire in which grooves due to wear at the edge regions of the tread are minimized. One embodiment of the tire includes a radial ply carcass, a layer of fiber-reinforced rubber material, a pair of circumferentially extending strips of fabric at the shoulder regions having cords obliquely disposed with respect to the circumference of the tire, a circumferential belt, and tread and sidewall portions.

9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEU 3,735,790

SHEET 1 BF 2 INVENTOR.

ffq/pc'a J 4522 79 av 1 PNEUMATIC TIRE This invention-relates to pneumatic tires for motor .vehicles .and, more particularly, to tires of the type comprising a radial carcass, a belt of at least one layer can consist, for example, of textile material, of a plastic material or of metal. The fiberscan be oriented in certain directions or be disordered. It is known to produce at least one layer of the belt of such a rubber material mixedwith fibers in order to reinforce the belt. It is also known to arrange strips of. this material inthe sidewall zones in order to stiffen the latter. of fiber-reinforced rubbermaterial having been wound around the beadrings toreplace he narrow strips of rubberized steel or textile ,cordin nchoring the bead ring to the carcass.

It is also known to use layers of ber-reinforc'ed rubber material in tires in order to reduce or prevent the transmission of vibrations of relatively low frequency from the tread of the tire to the ehicle. To this end such a'layer was arranged between the tread and the belt. The belt as a whole has also been embedded between two such, layers, which exten'dto the sidewall'regions. f

The presentinvention concerns a different problem found in.tires. It has been foundin practice that in tires with a radial carcass anda reinforcing layer of textile I ormetallic cord fabric, the outer regions, particularly the. outer circumferential rib of the lthread profile, wear out more quickely than thecentral region of the tread. Dependingon theprotilingof the treadand the internal structure of the tire,'th e increased wear manifests itself in more or lesspronounced grooves which are found in the edge regionsof thetread'and which reducethe life of the tire considerably. 1 Practical investigationsjhave shown that this type of wear of a tire bythe appearance ofgroovesinthe outer tread regions is found primarily in tires on the front axle of a vehicle whose rear support is effected by two or more rigid axles. This phenomenonis found particularly in cases where thedistance betweenthe front axle and the rear axle group is relatively small or when the rear axle group isparticularly heavily loaded.

The reason forthis specificwearphenomenon can be the lateral forces which .act on the'tires when the direction'of travel of the vehicle ischanged. In this maneuver'thetrailing part of the vehicle hasa tendency to maintain its original direction of motion, which tender icy must be counteracted by the tires of the front steering axle. The inertial tendency of the trailing part of the vehicle is the greater, theshorter the distance between the axles-is or the .higher the axialloadof the rear rigid. axles is.

It is an object of the present invention to improve a tireof the radial ply type in such a way that .the above described wear phenomenon is'counteracted, so that a uniform wear of the tread occurs and the life of the tire is not shortened by increased wear of the edge regions of the tread profile.

urthermore, bands I This problem is solved in accordance with one embodiment of the invention in this way that the fiberreinforced layer extendsbeyond the belt into the shoulder regions and there is mounted at the same time in each of the shoulder regions an additional strip of cord fabric. Preferably the fiber-reinforced layer in the shoulder zone has a substantially greater thickness than under the tread surface region.

The additional strips of cord fabric provided in the shoulder zones can be arranged between the belt. and the fiber-reinforced layer. With particular advantage, however, these strips are arranged between the fiberreinforced layer and the carcass. On the basis of the new arrangement the shoulder zones are stiffened additionally, and show increased shock absorption, particularly for low-frequency vibrations, so that the groovelike wear phenomena which appear as a result of such vibrations primarily in the above described situations are greatly attenuated.

particularly of low frequency vibrations, which contribute to the groove-like wear phenomena to a great ex tent. In both embodiments of the invention, the wear in the edge regions of the tread is uniform with the new design of the tire, and it is not greater than in the central region of the tread so that the life of such a tire is considerably prolonged.

Particularly good results can be achieved if the additional strips of cord fabric extend inwardly under the tread surface in a width corresponding to about 3/10 of the tread width and also extend under the edges of the belt. An improvement can also be achieved by having the additional strips of cord fabric extend into the sidewall region approximately up to a height corresponding to about 7/10 of the total height of the tire cross section, as described subsequently.

For a better understanding of the present invention, together with other'and further objects thereof, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view, partly schematic, of a first embodiment of a tire constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is across-sectional view, partly schematic, of a second embodiment of a tire constructed in accor dance with the invention; and

FIG. 2a is a diagram representing the angular relations of components of the tire of FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the tire represented in FIG. 1 comprises a carcass 1 with one or more plies 3 of a cord fabric preferably of textile or metal. The individual cords of the plies extend substantially radially,'hence they form an angle of aboutwith the circumferential direction of the tire. The edges of the plies are placed in known manner around the bead wires 2.

The tire has furthermore below the tread surface 4 a belt which comprises one or more reinforcement inserts 5 of metallic cords which extend parallel to each other and in a small angle of about to 30 to the circumferential direction. If the belt consists of several reinforcement layers 5, as in the FIG. 1 embodiment, the cords extend preferably in the individual layers under opposite angles to the circumferential direction so that the cords of the several layers cross each other.

Between the ply 3 of cord fabric and the belt 5 of the tire is arranged according to the invention a rubber layer 6 with embedded short fibers of textile, metal or other materials, for example, glass, as well as shoulder strips 8,-preferably of fabric having metal cords. In the FIG. 1 embodiment the shoulder strips 8 are directly above the cord fabric of the carcass, while the rubber layer is arranged between the shoulder strips 8 and the belt 5. This arrangement is preferred for strips 8 and layer 6.

The shoulder strips 8 preferably comprise a fabric whose metal cords extend parallel to each other and which form with the main circumferential direction of the tire an angle of between 60 and 80, thereby forming with the layers of the belt 5 a triangulated structure which is rigid in the circumferential and lateral directions of the tire in the shoulder regions of the tire compared with the crown region of the tread.

The fiber-reinforced rubber layer 6 extends laterally beyond the belt 5 while this fiber-reinforced layer is in turn mountedover the reinforcing strips or shoulder strips 8 which extend in the direction of the sidewalls 7 of the tire. The shoulder strips 8 preferably extend up to a distance d from the edge of the tread down under the tread surface region which corresponds to about 3/10 of the total width L of the treads. Furthermore, the shoulder strips 8 should preferably extend downward in the sidewall region 7 up to a height h, which corresponds to about 7/10 of the total height H of the entire tire cross section.

Instead of making the shoulder strips of fabric having metal cords, other strips having plastic cords or cables can also be used, provided they have a comparable strength.

The fiber-reinforced rubber layer 6 preferably has in the shoulder zones a substantially greater thickness than in the region under the tread surface, so that a greater shock absorbing effect is ensured in the shoulder zones, corresponding to the greater vibrational stress. At the same time a better transmission of the forces to the shoulder strips 8 is achieved. On the average the thickness of the rubber layer 6 in the region of the tread should be about 3-10 millimeters. Further the rubber mixture preferably has a hardness of 60 to 80 Shore A. The fibers in the rubber layer 6 can be disordered or be oriented in the circumferential direction.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the tire represented therein comprises a carcass 11 with one or more plies 13. As is shown in the drawing, the various cords of the plies run essentially'radially, thus including with the circumferential direction C of the tire an angle of approximately 90, as represented in FIG. 2a. The edges of these plies 13 are laid around the bead wires 12 in the usual manner.

The tire further presents, below the tread surface 14, a belt comprising one or more reinforcment inserts 15, 150 preferably of metallic cords oriented parallel to each other and at a slight angle to the circumferential Between the ply 13 of the carcass l1 and the belt 15 or 15a are disposed, according to the invention, in the area of the shoulder zones, a pair of shoulder strips 16, 16 of a fiber-reinforced rubber material and another pair of shoulder strips 18, 18a of a cord material. As mentioned above, the fibers embedded in the shoulder strip 16 may, for example, comprise textiles, metal or glass or the like. It is preferred that the shoulder strips 16, 16 have a hardness of 60 to Shore A. The cords of the additional reinforcing strips 18, 18a of cord material preferably run at an angle of 60 to 80 relative to the circumferential direction of the tire, as again is evident from the orientation diagram of FIG. 2. The cord material may, for example, comprise metal, plastic, glass or the like. The shoulder strips 18, 18a may lie over the layers 16, 16 of fiber-reinforced rubber. It is preferred, however, for the additional shoulder strips 18, 18a of cord material to be disposed between the carcass 11 and the shoulder strips 16, 16 of fiberreinforced material.

It will be seen that each shoulder strip 16 partly underlies the belt 15, 15a and partly extends outwardly, reaching into the sidewall areas 17. At the same time, shoulder strips 16, 16 overlie the addiiional shoulder strips 18, 181 which likewise extend below the belt and reach farther into the sidewall areas 17.

It is particularly advantageous for the additional shoulder strip 18 to extend to a distance d from the edge of the tread surface to under the tread surface area, which distance corresponds to approximately 3/10 of the overall width L of the tread surface. Furthermore, the shoulder strips 18, 8a should perferably reach downwardly into the sidewall area 17 to a level h which corresponds to approximately 7/10 of the overall height H of the entire cross section of the tire.

The additional shoulder strips 18, 18a must have great strength.

The shoulder strips of fiber-reinforced rubber material should match the shape of the shoulder zones, which can be accomplished in most cases by an approximately triangular cross-sectional shape. The strips 16, 16may be very thin or have a thickness of several millimeters. Their width may equal or, as a rule, be slightly less than the width of the additional reinforcing strips 18, 18a.

While there have been described what are at present considered to be the preferred embodiments of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and it is, therefore, aimed to cover all such changes and modification as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

-l. A pneumatic tire having tread, shoulder and sidewall regions comprising:

a carcass including at least one ply of fabric having members disposed substantially radially of the tire;

a pair of strips of fabric over said carcass, one strip being at each shoulder region of the tire and each strip extending substantially circumferentially of the tire and extending into each sidewall region and having cord members obliquely disposed with respect to the circumference of the tire; a reinforcing belt extending substantially circumferentially of the tire over said fabric ply and over said fabric strips; fiber-reinforced elastomeric material having a multiplicity of shortfibe'rs therein and disposed partially under said belt and disposed in layered relation to said strip at eachshoulder region of the tire, said fiber-reinforced material having thicker portions disposed nearer. theshoulder boundaries of the tread and sidewall regions of the tire and thinner portions extending toward the central tread region of the tire;

and tread, shoulder and sidewall portions of elastomeric material over said carcass.

2. A tire in accordance with claim 1 in which said fiber-reinforced material extends partially beyond said belt at each shoulder region of the tire.

3.. A tire in accordance with claim 1 in which said fiber-reinforced material comprises a layer of approximately triangular cross-sectional shape at each shoulder region of the tire.

4. A tire in accordance with claim 1' in which each of said pair of strips is disposed between said fiberreinfor'ced material and said carcass.

5. 'A tire in accordance with claim 1 in which said cord members of said strips are of metal.

' 7 6 A 'tire in accordance with claim 1 in which said members of said strips are disposed at an angle in the rangeof 60 to 80 relative tothe circumferential direc tion of the tire.

7. A tire in accordance with claim 1 in which said pair of strips individually extend under said tread portion of the tire a distance equal to approximately 3/10 of the width of said tread portion.

8. A tire in accordance with claim 1 in which said sidewall portions have inner circumferences and in which said pair of strips individually extend to points in said sidewall portions which are a distance of approximately 7/10 of the width of said sidewall portions removed from said inner circumferences of said sidewall portions,

9. A pneumatic tire having tread, shoulder and sidewall regions comprising: a carcass including at least one ply of fabric having members disposed substantially radially of the tire;

a pair of strips of fabric over said carcass, one strip being at each shoulder region of the tire and each strip extending substantially circumferentially of the tire and having cord members obliquely disposed with respect to the circumference of the tire;

a reinforcing belt extending substantially circumferentially of the tire over said fabric ply and over said fabric strips; 7

a layer ,of fiber-reinforced elastomeric material having a multiplicity of short fibers therein and disposed partially under said beltand disposed in layered relation to said strip at each shoulder region of the tire, said layer of fiber-reinforced material extending from one shoulder region of the tire to the other and being thicker in the shoulder regions of the tire than under the central portion of said tread region;

and tread, shoulder and sidewall portions of elastomeric material over said carcass.

l =l= l 

1. A pneumatic tire having tread, shoulder and sidewall regions comprising: a carcass including at least one ply of fabric having members disposed substantially radially of the tire; a pair of strips of fabric over said carcass, one strip being at each shoulder region of the tire and each strip extending substantially circumferentially of the tire and extending into each sidewall region and having cord members obliquely disposed with respect to the circumference of the tire; a reinforcing belt extending substantially circumferentially of the tire over said fabric ply and over said fabric strips; fiber-reinforced elastomeric material having a multiplicity of short fibers therein and disposed partially under said belt and disposed in layered relation to said strip at each shoulder region of the tire, said fiber-reinforced material having thicker portions disposed nearer the shoulder boundaries of the tread and sidewall regions of the tire and thinner portions extending toward the central tread region of the tire; and tread, shoulder and sidewall portions of elastomeric material over said carcass.
 2. A tire in accordance with claim 1 in which said fiber-reinforced material extends partially beyond said belt at eacH shoulder region of the tire.
 3. A tire in accordance with claim 1 in which said fiber-reinforced material comprises a layer of approximately triangular cross-sectional shape at each shoulder region of the tire.
 4. A tire in accordance with claim 1 in which each of said pair of strips is disposed between said fiber-reinforced material and said carcass.
 5. A tire in accordance with claim 1 in which said cord members of said strips are of metal.
 6. A tire in accordance with claim 1 in which said members of said strips are disposed at an angle in the range of 60* to 80* relative to the circumferential direction of the tire.
 7. A tire in accordance with claim 1 in which said pair of strips individually extend under said tread portion of the tire a distance equal to approximately 3/10 of the width of said tread portion.
 8. A tire in accordance with claim 1 in which said sidewall portions have inner circumferences and in which said pair of strips individually extend to points in said sidewall portions which are a distance of approximately 7/10 of the width of said sidewall portions removed from said inner circumferences of said sidewall portions.
 9. A pneumatic tire having tread, shoulder and sidewall regions comprising: a carcass including at least one ply of fabric having members disposed substantially radially of the tire; a pair of strips of fabric over said carcass, one strip being at each shoulder region of the tire and each strip extending substantially circumferentially of the tire and having cord members obliquely disposed with respect to the circumference of the tire; a reinforcing belt extending substantially circumferentially of the tire over said fabric ply and over said fabric strips; a layer of fiber-reinforced elastomeric material having a multiplicity of short fibers therein and disposed partially under said belt and disposed in layered relation to said strip at each shoulder region of the tire, said layer of fiber-reinforced material extending from one shoulder region of the tire to the other and being thicker in the shoulder regions of the tire than under the central portion of said tread region; and tread, shoulder and sidewall portions of elastomeric material over said carcass. 